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Ewart: Coal growth a risk to 'green' desires

Author of the article:

Stephen Ewart • Calgary Herald

Publishing date:

August 23, 2014 • 4 minute read

Port Metro Vancouver approved the $15-million expansion of a barge terminal at Fraser Surrey Dock to facilitate annual exports of four million tonnes of coal mined in the United States, transported by train across the border to the coast and then overseas to Asian markets.

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In June, Vancouver was honoured as a green champion by the Canadian Federation of Municipalities.

This week, Port Metro Vancouver approved the $15-million expansion of a barge terminal at Fraser Surrey Dock to facilitate annual exports of four million tonnes of coal mined in the United States, transported by train across the border to the coast and then overseas to Asian markets.

Notwithstanding the boundaries of Vancouver and its suburbs across British Columbia’s Lower Mainland, it’s tough to see how a municipality intent on being recognized as the “greenest city in the world” by the end of the decade is positioning itself as a gateway to Asia for “dirty” North American coal.

Given the concerns over human health and the environment, it’s a safe bet a coal transfer facility won’t be part of any “best green building policy” award.

The expanded Fraser Surrey Dock, to open in 2015, will raise B.C.’s coal exports by 10 per cent.

There’s been considerable local opposition, including the City of Vancouver and Mayor Gregor Robertson, to the expansion of the facility, but it’s a far cry from the high-profile efforts to block construction of pipelines from the oilsands to B.C. ports to access the same Asian energy markets.

As the federally mandated Port Metro Vancouver approved the Fraser Surrey Dock facility Thursday, the City of Vancouver was announcing it would ask the Federal Court of Appeal for a judicial review of the National Energy Board’s decision not to consider overall GHG emissions in its assessment of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain oil pipeline expansion proposal.

The City of Burnaby has also launched a constitutional challenge to Kinder Morgan’s plan to triple the volume to almost 900,000 barrels a day on the pipeline from Edmonton to the Vancouver suburb that’s operated for more than 60 years.

“Vancouver is the largest port city in the country and we have a lot of coastline. We are already being impacted by changing sea level,” Sandu Johnston, Vancouver’s deputy city manager, told The Canadian Press in announcing the legal challenge. “We are directly impacted by the burning of these fossil fuels and we believe that has to be taken into account.”

The health impact from the coal dust offkilometre-long unit trains – made up of 125 cars – that rumble through neighbourhoods every day has been a major concern.

The “carbon footprint” argument is much more prominent in the pipeline debate.

Natural Gas Development Minister Rich Coleman acknowledged last year that B.C.’s ambitious LNG plans will impact its climate-change efforts and “meeting our goals will be a challenge.” It’s not been entirely smooth sailing for the coal industry. Metro Vancouver is in a legal battle with Fraser Surrey Docks over efforts to regulate air quality and emissions on federal port lands.

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Coal occupies a different place in B.C. economics than oil or even the massive natural gas resource in the north that has so much promise for LNG exports. As the government proclaims on its website, “coal production is a mainstay of the province’s economy.”

The Fraser Surrey Docks terminal would send barges of coal to a terminal on Texada Island north of the city for reloading onto ocean-going vessels.

The province approved expansion of the Texada facility in April, paving the way for increased coal exports.

Coal is already the most heavily traded commodity at Vancouver’s port.

The Canadian Coal Association said Canada exported 33.6 million tonnes of coal in 2011 with about 80 per cent of the shipments from B.C. The Fraser Surrey Docks could eventually be expanded to handle 8 million tonnes of coal a year.

There’s definitely opportunity for growth.

Earlier this month, the Oregon government rejected Ambre Energy’s plans for a coal export facility in that state.

U.S. coal producers are seeking a West Coast access point to Asia as domestic markets declines with electricity generators switching to low-priced natural gas.

For all the vocal opposition to oil pipelines, a surge in coal exports would undermine Vancouver’s “green” ambitions and put British Columbia’s love-hate relationship with the fossil-fuel industry under greater scrutiny.

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